Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) In addition to all other remedies provided by law for the enforcement of liens or for the recovery of warehousemen's charges a warehouseman may sell by public auction any goods upon which he has a lien for charges which have become due.
(2) The warehouseman shall give written notice of his intention to sell:
(a) to the person liable as debtor for the charges for which the lien exists;
(b) to any person who has served upon the warehouseman a notice of his claim to be the owner of the goods or of some interest therein or of whose interest the warehouseman has received notice;
(c) to the grantee, or (where a transfer by the grantee has been registered in accordance with the Instruments Act to the transferee, of any bill of sale relating to the goods:
(i) which was granted by the person depositing the goods or by any other person of whose interest in the goods the warehouseman has knowledge;
(ii) which was registered in accordance with the Instruments Act prior to the date of the deposit of the goods; and
(iii) which has not become null and void or in respect of which satisfaction has not been entered; and
(d) to any other person of whose interest in the goods the warehouseman has knowledge.
(3) The notice shall contain:
(a) a brief description of the goods;
(b) a statement showing the situation of the warehouse where the goods are stored, the date of their deposit with the warehouseman and the name of the person by whom they were deposited;
(c) an itemized statement of the warehouseman's charges showing the sum due at the time of the notice;
(d) a demand that the amount of the charges as stated in the notice and such further charges as may accrue shall be paid on or before a day mentioned, not less than one month from the delivery of the notice if it is personally delivered, or from the time when the notice should reach its destination according to the due course of post if it is sent by post; and
(e) a statement that unless the charges are paid within the time mentioned the goods will be advertised for sale and sold by public auction, or (as the case may require) by such method and at a time and place specified in the notice.
(4) Where the charges are not paid on or before the day mentioned in the notice, an advertisement of the sale, describing the goods to be sold, and stating the time and place of the sale, shall be published at least twice in a daily newspaper printed and published in the City of Darwin and in a newspaper printed and published in the Town of Alice Springs, the first publication appearing not less than 14 days before the day of the sale and the second publication appearing not less than 7 days after the first.
(5) The sale shall be held not less than 14 days from the date of the first publication of the advertisement.
(6) For the purpose of advertising in accordance with the provisions of this section, the warehouseman may without liability for damage take all reasonable steps (including the opening of sealed or closed boxes or packages) to ascertain the nature and description of the goods to be sold.
(7) If, pursuant to subsection (6), any box or package is opened the same shall be opened in the presence of 2 other persons who shall make, sign and verify by statutory declaration an inventory of the contents thereof.
(8) The Local Court may, on the application of any person having any interest in the goods made at any time after the service of the notice, make an order staying further proceedings under this section for such period and on such terms as it deems just.
(9) This section shall apply only to cases in which some part of the charges in arrear are in respect of a period more than 12 months prior to the date upon which the notice of intention to sell is given.
(10) For the purposes of a sale of goods under this section, the warehouseman shall be deemed to be the absolute owner of the goods.